The Detective's New Companion
by Detective's Heart
Summary: Naoto's grampa Kashikoi has brought home a puppy who quickly becomes part of the Shirogane Family. Naoto and Tantei form a bond unlike any other! But the stronger this bond becomes, the more the detective fears a time that may never come! The time to say goodbye...
1. Chapter 1

"So Nao-chan, what are you going to name him?" Naoto Shirogane glanced up at her grandfather from where she sat on the floor. She was smiling broadly at the fluffy bundle chewing at the buttons on her jacket playfully.

"I... erm..." The detective was still at a loss for words. Her grandfather, Kashikoi Shirogane, had brought a tiny German Sheppard puppy home with him in the hopes of keeping his granddaughter entertained for longer then a few hours. He had also remembered the countless conversations with Naoto when she was much younger about why a puppy would be a bad idea. He chuckled at her as she pulled the puppy away from her coat.

"Is something the matter Nao-chan? I thought you wanted a puppy to, what was it, help with your investigations? Snuff out the clues?" Naoto turned to him with a dazed sort of expression. She remembered saying that when she was five!

"I-Grampa!" It finally clicked in her mind what he meant. This was another act to make her enjoy her youth will she still could. "Well... I suppose I should call him..." She looked at the puppy with an overjoyed gleam in her eyes as she remembered the name she chose as a child. "Tantei." The pup pounced on her hand as it moved in a playful manner, gaining a seemingly painful face plant into the wooden floor when his 'prey' avoided the movement. The detective ruffled the fur on Tantei's head, chuckling at him merrily.

"Well then Tantei Shirogane, welcome to the family." Yakushiji smiled at the pair on the floor. "Let's hope you can take good care of him!" On normal circumstances he would have earned himself a death glare of the worst kind from Naoto for the comment. Luckily for him she was far too absorbed in watching Tantei chase his tail until he fell sideways onto the young detective's lap.

"How old is he?" She asked curiously scratching the pup's belly.

"The owner claimed he would need his second injection in about a week so that would make him... Nine weeks, as I recall." Kashikoi hesitated before glancing at Yakushiji questioningly.

"Hm? Oh that means he will be able to go out for walks soon. I'll arrange for a visit to the vets then." The secretary grinned at Naoto as he added, "You'd best start looking for some things for him Naoto-sama. After all, we only got the puppy and some food."

"I suppose I should..." She starred at the puppy thoughtfully_. 'Will Junes have the necessary items? Maybe I could ask Chie...' _If Naoto remembered correctly, Chie has an old St. Bernard dog that Yukiko had found when they were young.

"Why don't we go get the things we need at Junes tomorrow? It might prove more challenging then you'd think!" Her grandpa chuckled jokingly.

"Why is that?" Surely it wasn't that difficult!

"I had a dog when I was young and I got the wrong kind of food and treat's countless times! I also have a few things to purchase myself, so we might as well go together."

"I can assure you I would double check the labels before I purchased anything, but I agree. If we both need something then we can go together." Tantei yawned as he curled up into a ball on Naoto's lap sleepily. She smiled, stroking his brown and black fur gently. Her grandpa chuckled softly before glancing at the clock on the wall. Gently picking up the pup she moved to sit next to her grandpa on the couch.

"Thank you Grandpa." The young detective laid Tantei on one of the couch pillows before catching the elder Shirogane in a tight embrace. He chuckled as he returned the hug.

"You are very welcome Nao-chan."

* * *

"What the...?" Naoto's eyes opened early the next morning to something licking her face affectionately. Laughing, she realised that what had woken her was Tantei. She struggled to sit up as the puppy jumped up at her face in an attempt to continue covering her face with slobber.

"Okay! Okay, I'm up! Stop it!" Her hand grabbed his nose to gently force his mouth shut. The second she let go of him again he barked excitedly, wagging his tail as he grabbed one of the bed sheets in an attempt to play tug of war with her. He succeeded.

"Tantei let go!" Tantei growled in rebellion at his new master. An idea suddenly crossed her mind. Flinging the sheet over the pups head she quickly pinned him down under said sheet. He panicked before tumbling of the bed as she released him. The pup barked repeatedly as he dashed to door and as if on que a knock sounded throughout the room.

"Naoto? Are you awake?"

"Yes Grampa! I'll be down in a minute!"

"I'll be waiting."

Naoto swiftly prepared for the day ahead before accompanying the elder Shirogane in front of the door with the puppy circling her feet.

"Someone's eager." He chuckled looking down at the over excited pup. "Yakushiji could you take care of Tantei while we're gone?" Yakushiji grabbed the puppy as he replied:

"Of course Shirogane-sama."

"I have said this before but can you please use my first name please?"

"Um... Of course Kashikoi-sama. Please enjoy yourselves." With that, both Naoto and her grandfather left the building together.

"Goodbye Yakushiji-san!" Naoto called over her shoulder as she followed her grandfather.

* * *

"Hey where's Naoto?" Rise checked her watch impatiently at Yosuke's question. "You did tell her we were meeting up today didn't you?"

The idol glared at him before replying, "Of course I did!" The usually organised and punctual detective prince only spoke to her this morning when she'd told them about the meeting, so she should be here... "To be honest, I'm a little worried. She hasn't shown up for the past few days and hasn't even said anything to me yet."

"Yeah, well maybe its just detective stuff." Yosuke, despite his words had concerned expression on his face.

"I noticed that to! Wonder what she's doing..." Chie trailed of in wonder. The entire Investigation Team – except for Naoto of course – was gathered around the usual table at the Junes food court.

"Who cares? Sure seems happier." Stated Kanji, matter of factly.

"Yeah? What makes you say that?" The heir to Junes questioned calmly.

"Well... I dunno. She just ... does..."

"Hey Rise, why don't you try calling her? Maybe she's just forgotten."

Rise nodded at Yukiko. "Yeah, maybe... Ok let's see now..." she scrolled threw her contacts on her mobile until she eventually reached Naoto's name. Holding the phone to the side of her head, her gaze wondered around the group.

...

She sighed. "No answer."

"Figures. Well were still on the clock. Come on Ted!"

"But what about Nao-chan?"

"She'll be fine! Look if you're that fused then why doesn't you go see what's up after your shift?" After complaining some more both Teddie and Yosuke left the table.

"Hey, why don't we do that?" Questioned Chie, making everyone turn to her.

"Do what?" The idol stared at her blankly.

"Why don't we pay her a little visit? Just in case something's wrong!"

"What all of us? Didn't she say somethin' 'bout not bein disturbed?" Kanji had a point but...

"How about only a few us go? Then she might not mind so much..." Rise looked at Yukiko with an interested look.

"Yeah, maybe then we'll find out why she's avoiding us!" She paused for a moment. "So who's coming with me?"

"What? You're going now?" The brunette stared in disbelief at the idol.

"Well, why not? I mean we _have_ been here a while anyway and she still hasn't shown so... You wanna come with?"

"Sure! You coming Yukiko?"

"Oh, no, sorry. I'm helping out at the inn today."

"That's ok! How about you Kanji-kun?" Kanji shook his head at Rise.

"Na. I'll pass. I got some stuff ta' do."

"Then that leaves me and Chie! Come on! Let's go!" _'She better not be doing something stupid...'_

* * *

"Whoa... This place is huge!" Exclaimed Chie upon their arrival, staring up at the house in awe.

"Oh come on Chie! Were not gonna find out what's going on if we stand here all day!" Rise's enthusiasm evident in her voice. Truth be told, she'd never actually set foot inside the Shirogane Estate and was more eager then she should be to get a glimpse of the inside. As they approached the door to the building they became much more hesitant to actually knock. Rise jumped as a loud crash sounded through the doors and a multi-coloured blur flew past the inside of the window.

"What the...?" Chie's eyes widened, before knocking on the door multiple times. A few moments later the estate secretary, Yakushiji, opened said door with the most self agitated look on his face. He nodded politely.

"Good afternoon. I take it you are here to see Naoto-sama?" The two girls nodded in response.

"Er... Yeah, we just wanted to drop by and say hi." Chie's hesitant reply seemed to catch the secretary's eye. A look of dread adorning his face.

"Well..." He was cut of by the sound of something small whirring to life.

"What's that?" asked Rise curiously.

"Oh erm... I don't know..." He sighed before gesturing for them to enter. "I'll try and fetch her for you... I can't promise anything though." He mumbled that last part. The two friends glanced at each over before removing their shoes and placing them to the side. The secretary hesitantly knocked on one of the many mahogany doors and called "Naoto-sama?" He had a knowing look on his face as he repeated the gesture with no success in gaining any response at all.

"It works!" cried an all too familiar voice to nobody in particular. The whirring nose grew louder as a result. Yakushiji gestured towards the curious teens for them to follow as he opened the door.

_CRASH!_

A terrified screech followed by a surprised and worried gasp as something heavy collided with the wooden door.

"Tantei! Are you ok?" Naoto's worried voice along with the scrambling of feet on the wooden floor made both girls flinch. "Yakushiji-san! Apologise!"

Yakushiji rolled his eyes before answering, "I apologise... Tantei-sama. It would seem neither you nor your master heard me."

"Heard you?"

"The sound of the... engine seemed to prevent you from noticing when I both knock and call your name. Anyway am I forgiven?" There was a joking tone in his voice as he looked down at what was most likely Naoto.

"Er... Yes. What is it you needed anyway?"

"I wanted to inform you that you have two guests who would like to see you." He stepped back to let them threw the doorway. "I'll leave you be." He added closing the door behind him as he left. Naoto stood up in an instant and greeted them in her usual formal way. She suddenly noticed the shocked look on their faces.

"Er... What brings you here? Um... This is Tantei and um... I wasn't expecting visitors so..."

"You have a puppy?!" Both Chie and Rise exclaimed in unison, suddenly looking much more excited.

"Um... Yes. Like I said, his name is Tantei. Is something the matter?"

"Awww! He's so cute!" Tantei was suddenly scooped up from the ground by Chie before he could react. "Why didn't you tell us?" She wanted to say because she knew this would happen but couldn't bring herself to do so. The brunette was so absorbed in showering the puppy in affection that she didn't seem to notice him struggling out of her grasp.

"Umm... Chie? I don't think he particularly likes that." The detective prince had a worried look as she watched. "Umm can you let him go please?" Chie suddenly looked back at her with an annoyed sort of look. To Naoto's relief she hesitantly placed the puppy back on the floor. Tantei instantly dashed behind her, away from the brunette's arms, using his master as a human shield.

"Aww, did she scare you little guy?" Rise finally piped up. She glanced at Naoto as if awaiting her approval. She frowned as the detective hesitantly shook her head, with a slightly protective glint in her eyes.

"You didn't answer my question Rise-san. What brings you here?" The idol stared at her before answering:

"Well... We hardly see you anymore and we-"

"Just wanted to find out why you weren't hanging around with us. That's all." Chie cut Rise of. "And we wanted to know if you wanted to hang out with us today."

"Ah, well Tantei isn't trained yet and since he technically belongs to me, it has become my responsibility. Yakushiji doesn't know how to teach dogs anything and Grampa has his cases so I am the only one who can at the moment."

"AND you wanted to play with him right?" Added Chie knowingly as Naoto's expression turned blank. "C'mon! Everyone would want to!" Rise suddenly remembered the crash from before and turned towards the door to see what had caused it. A black and flame painted, mini monster truck laid motionless on the floor. Tantei barked and rushed away, coming back moments later with a plastic remote in his jaws, wagging his tail enthusiastically.

"Whatcha got there?" She questioned as her detective friend seemed to go pink with embarrassment. He dropped the controller at Naoto's feet and barked up at her. She sighed before hesitantly picking it up.

"This is an old toy of mine which I recently modified for him. I... Um... Used to make things like watches in the past so I..."

"Whoa! That's so cool! What's it do?" Naoto blushed even brighter before flicking a switch and smiling at Tantei as he jumped onto the back of the truck. Once that whirring sound from before came back again, both Chie and Rise gapped in awe as it practically came to life! The headlights flickered on and bubbles flowed out of the exhausts before the truck raced around the room. Tantei howled in excitement as the truck launched of a make shift ramp catapulting him into the air. He landed in the back of the truck which had yet to slow and barked multiple times, wagging his tail the whole time. They came to a halt as Naoto started switching the dials on the controller.

"I was actually still testing all the functions so..."

"What theirs more?" Disbelief clear in both her tone and facial expression.

"Yes. Ah here we go." She said the last part to herself as the truck made a small clicking sound.

_Whoomp_!

"Er... Naoto is that... a glider?" She never heard Rise's question as she turned a few more dials.

"Ready Tantei?" Tantei yipped excitedly. Inwardly she had know idea why she had even added this function and she knew it most likely wouldn't work but there's know reason why she shouldn't at least try... Powering up the truck again she launched it at full speed at the ramp. The glider's huge wings fluttered as it was catapulted into the indoors air. Much to everyone's surprise the truck glided gracefully for a few moments before landing with a heavy thud causing it to bounce several times. This was bad. The truck swerved to the left and rolled upside down! Naoto gasped and shot forward as she heard the shocked whimper from beneath the truck!

"Are you okay Tantei?" Her nervous voice made both Rise and Chie flinch. A few moments passed as they joined Naoto to pull the truck of the pup. Tantei instantly pounced on his master, knocking her to the floor as he licked her face. Both the brunette and the idol smiled as the detective burst out laughing trying desperately to get the puppy to stop licking her face.

"Aww! That's adorable!" Rise commented watching from where she sat with Chie on the floor by the truck.

"Ahaha yeah!" Chie giggled as Naoto finally stopped the slobbery puppy and sat up, looking breathlessly happy.

"Ahaha, you ok Naoto-kun?" Rise laughed lightly.

"Hmm, hmm, yes." Naoto chuckled in response grinning from ear to ear like a kid at Christmas. Tantei barked again merrily.

"So, what now?"

* * *

**Aurthors notes! **

**I forgot about the description of the Tantei! I'm SORRY! I'll try to include it in the next chapter! :D**

**Also I'm SORRY I got the point of views messed up! I also wrote some of this while I was half asleep... and ended up getting carried away...  
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! DON'T BE TO MEAN BUT FEEL FREE TO CRITISIZE! :D :D :D THANK YOU! I have gone over bits of this chapter and corrected most parts so yeah :D :D Thanks for the Review EvilWaffleS!**


	2. Chapter 2

It's been a few days since Chie and Rise had visited the Shirogane Estate to see the young detective. She was to meet them at the Samagawa flood plain soon with Tantei so the others could meet the new Shirogane. As far as the rest of the Investigation Team knew, they were just going to be introduced to a new colleague of hers who is _dying_ to meet them. Partly true yes but also partly false. Naoto was just glad it wasn't her who had told them about the meeting or the one who came up with such a petty lie. Especially since she had been left out of the loop for the plans until the two had informed her about it.

"Tantei! Time to go!" she called before the black and brown German Sheppard puppy dashed towards her. The new collar she'd gotten him shining in the sunlight emanating from the window. The collar was a pale, icy, blue with two engraved tags clashing against each other as he bounded around the room. Naoto clipped the similarly coloured lead to his collar before the two of them left the building.

The pair strolled down the path towards their destination side by side with calm expressions on their faces. Tantei's excitedly wagging tail and lolling tongue being the only thing that portrayed his excitement.

"Hey Naoto-kun!" called Chie upon their arrival. Tantei barked excitedly making the rest of the group turn their attention towards the two. "Hello to you too Tantei!"

"Good afternoon everyone. I hope we're not late." She smiled as Tantei gave a bark to mimic Naoto's greeting.

"Whoa know way!" Yosuke starred in disbelief at the puppy. "Who...?"

"Wow Nao-chan! You've gotcha self a stud!" Tantei growled at him, defensively baring his teeth. Naoto glared at him in annoyance. He screeched before apologising in a terrified way. Her gaze then returned to the stupefied faces of her friends.

"This is Tantei. My puppy. Um... Why are you looking at us like that?" She knew the answer to that before she had even spoke the words.

"S-sorry Naoto-kun. It's just we never expected you to even consider getting a puppy. He really is adorable!" Yukiko's soft voice seemed to snap everyone out of their daze as Kanji spoke up after her.

"C-c-can I... pet him?" His face was blushed crimson with embarrassment. Naoto nodded before unclipping the leader. She knew he didn't need it here. In an instant Tantei rushed forward to great everyone, apparently avoiding Chie. The group was settled at the picnic bench when they had arrived but in a matter of minutes a majority of the group where throwing a tennis ball, chasing him and in general just having fun with the young pup. It was clear that everyone was enjoying themselves, especially Tantei who was now chasing Teddie for bringing up 'scoring' with the girls and Naoto who was one of the girls he –most likely - included under that category stood back with everyone else and watched. Tantei wouldn't hurt him. Nope! Never! Living up to that expectation he knocked the stupid bear over and gave him a thorough face licking as punishment. It took a while for him to cease assaulting him in this way – is this classed as assaulting? – But once his 'prey' was released he jumped up with the same ear-to-ear grin as Naoto had whenever this happened to her.

"Hey Naoto. Why'd you get a dog anyway?" questioned Yosuke curiously once they'd settled down at the picnic table with Tantei laid across Naoto's lap sleepily.

"To be honest, I'm not sure why my Grampa suddenly came home with him. I just know that it was most likely his idea." She gazed at Tantei thoughtfully before adding "But I'm glad he did." Smiling she looked back up at everyone.

"That explains the bubble truck!" She stared blankly at Rise's joking expression. As soon as she realized what she meant by 'bubble truck' her eyes widened.

"Bubble truck?" Yosuke threw a questioning glance at Rise before Naoto.

"Oh yeah! We never told you guys about that! Naoto-kun made an awesome remote controlled monster truck for Tantei that fires bubbles out behind it as it goes!" Tantei barked in affirmation as the detective blushed and hid her face behind her cap.

"I-I didn't make it. I s-simply modified it with some other things from my childhood." She was glad they hadn't mentioned the glider and hoped that they wouldn't mention the crash...

"Know way dude! A bubble firing monster truck? How'd you even make something like that? What does he ride in the back of it or somethin'?" Tantei barked again to agree with him when he seemed to realise that Naoto had know idea how to reply to his questions.

"Erm... It's not that difficult... and erm... Yes he does ride it around the house... Um..." She suddenly noticed Kanji's look of adoration that was probably – luckily for Naoto – aimed at the puppy, who's head now rested on the table.

"Dude, I don't know if I should be stunned or not anymore..." At that moment Chie reached out a hand to stroke his head only to jump back when he growled at her.

"Why don't you like me?" her supposedly hurt voice made Tantei raise his head to stare at her and Naoto give her an annoyed look as if to say you know why. "What? Do you know why he doesn't like me?"

"I'm sorry Chie-senpai but it would seem as if Tantei doesn't like being ah..."

"What she's trying to say is he doesn't appreciate being cuddled to death!" Rise's jokingly answer was confirmed with another bark from Tantei.

"Aww, wha-at?" The detective nodded in agreement smiling at Chie's reaction as she did so.

"Honestly you guys should have been there! He had Naoto worried sick when that truck rolled over!" added Chie after Yosuke had smirked at her.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah! He then had her laughing like Yukiko-senpai when he knocked her over and practically licked her face of!"

"Hey!" for some reason Yukiko looked offended at Rise's comment.

"That's fricken' adorable!" Kanji's comment made Tantei bark in excitement, wagging his tail again. With that He stretched out a hand – like Chie had done – and stroked his head, gaining a lick on the hand as he pulled away.

"What'll sensei say when he hears Nao-chan's with another guy?" Teddie once again earned a death glare from the detective and an angry snarl from the puppy. "Eek!"

"You two are really similar aren't you?" Yukiko's statement made the two of them throw questioning glances at her.

"How so?" Naoto inquired as Tantei tilted his head to one side.

"Well, you both seem to be annoyed at Teddie's comments and have the same reaction to other things." She replied calmly. "It's like you've known each other for years!"

"I see what you mean Yukiko!" Chie stared at them in understanding.

"Really?" The detective prince wasn't too sure about that. However the puppy seemed to agree as he barked to show he understood. He looked up at Naoto affectionately and she returned a similar smile. "I suppose your right."

The conversation continued until the sun had began to set. Naoto and Tantei once again strolled side by side calmly as they journeyed home. The detective glanced down at the puppy as he bounced forward and tugged the lead gently.

"What is it Tantei?" He barked again and bounded forward excitedly. She stared down at him confused. Tugging the lead again he shot forwards causing Naoto to lurch in the same direction. "Ah... You want to... race?" She mumbled curiously before the puppy confirmed the question by barking again. In an instant they were dashing down the street towards the Shirogane Estate. They weren't too for from it anyway so their 'race' didn't last long. Running side by side, never slowing, never quickening, perfectly paced so neither fell behind.

"Were back!" She called as they entered the building. Once Naoto had unclipped the leader from Tantei's collar the two of them entered the living room.

"Ah! Nao-chan! Care to explain this?" Kashikoi Shirogane had his back to them, his voice filled with stifled annoyance.

"Explain what, Grampa?" She didn't remember doing anything wrong...

"This." He turned around with parts of a broken china teapot in his hands. The young detective gasped as she remembered how precious it was to her grandfather.

"What happened?"

"That is what I just asked you Naoto." His calm voice wasn't enough to fool Naoto as she knew he must be fuming!

"Your accusing me? Why would I break anything like this?" She suddenly felt rage building inside her. Why would her grandfather accuse her of all people for breaking a china teapot that belonged to her grandmother? Unless... "If your accusing Tantei then I can assure you that he has been with me all day!"

"I am not accusing you Naoto but I have reason to believe Tantei might have something to do with this."

"And that reason would be...?" She couldn't believe that her grandfather was now blaming Tantei! He had been with the young detective all day!

"That reason is-" He never got a chance to finish as very nervous looking estate secretary entered the room.

"Shirogane-sama I was just about to clear that up... My apologies... It was me who broke it." Naoto stared in disbelief at her grandfather and Yakushiji, before crossing her arms in agitation.

"I see. I'm sorry Nao-chan, Tantei, but you two seemed like the most logical culprits."

"How so?" She had no idea why he would expect the two before anyone else.

"You should be able to figure that out yourself Nao-chan." Tantei barked as if he understood, making Naoto feel stupid for not realising before.

"I see. If you'll excuse me, Tantei will need feeding." Entering the kitchen she hurriedly gave the pup his dinner before taking an apple out of the fruit bowl for herself.

* * *

**Author's Note!  
I PROMISE THIS STORY IS GOING SOMEWHERE!**

**Tantei is a generic German Sheppard dog with a white V shape on his chest and upside down white triangle shapes under his eyes which are brown.**

**SORRY I didn't add this into the actual story! Anyway please read and review so I know what I'm doing wrong and if I can be bothered to fix it I will.**

**:D :D :D**


	3. Chapter 3

Naoto and Tantei strolled side by side towards the Samagawa flood plain. They were going to meet up with their friends again to discuss something they wouldn't say anything about until the two of them arrived. The amount of possibilities of the discussion topic spun round the young detectives mind, from a problem with the TV world, to a reunion with their silver haired friend in Tokyo. Maybe it's a surprise? She wondered how he'd been since the murder case in Inaba occurred...

_"ARGGGGHHHHHH!"_

Naoto's eyes widened as she froze and turned her gaze towards Tantei.

"Was that... Rise-san?" The two of them swiftly raced down the road after a sound that was undoubtedly a gun shot. Rise's fear filled scream echoed threw their minds as they sprinted much faster then they were usually capable of.

This was bad... As soon as they arrived Naoto drew her gun at the scene before her. The idol was pressed up against a wall with a gun aimed at her head a few feet away. The owner of said gun looked scruffy and nervous as the man threatened to shoot Rise if the police got any closer. It then occurred to her that the two policemen in pursuit weren't actually armed. Tantei stared up at her with the most determined look on his face as he seemed to wait for his owner to make her move.

"Ok Tantei. Follow me and stay close. Don't draw any attention to us ok?" She realised she'd just whispered this to a dog and instantly felt like an idiot. Shrugging it of she unclipped the puppy's leader and stuffed it into her pocket. At that moment Rise noticed them. Acting fast she signalled to her friend to stay quite. The two of them quickly took cover nearby in the shadows of another building. Edging closer and closer until they weren't too far away from them. Turning to the police who were trying not to look at her and the dog she signalled to them to get ready. They had annoyed expressions as the young detective somehow managed to edge much closer, remaining unnoticed in the shadows. This was a rather clichéd plan but if it worked then she couldn't care less!

Taking a small coin out of her pocket she flung it at the wall behind the criminal. His attention instantly shifted towards the coin, his gun moving with it. In an instant Naoto and Tantei leapt forwards to stand in front of the idol, with a pistol and an angry snarl aimed directly at the now stunned criminal.

"Naoto-kun! Tantei!" cried Rise in obvious relief.

"Drop your weapon!" Naoto's demanding voice echoed threw the air followed with a sharp bark from her companion.

"NO!" The madman in front of the two no longer looked nervous but more fearfully insane! "I'm not scared of a kid with a water pistol and a mutt!" The young detective glared at him fiercely, desperately trying to think of a way to get her friend to safety. The enemy grinned maniacally.

"I can assure you that this is _not_ a water pistol and I am _not_ a child!" Her growing agitation and impatience was starting to get the best of her. "Now drop your weapon!" This time Tantei bared his teeth with a cruel snarl of pure defensive rage! The enemy's hand started shaking as his finger suddenly moved to the trigger.

"Rise move!" She cried in the same moment as the sound of two gunshots blared threw the scene. Both the enemy and the detective had fired upon each other with both bullets aimed at two completely different targets! Naoto had succeeded in immobilizing the enemy with a shot to the leg, but an over whelming force had also impacted her as she tried to move with Rise! The side of her abdomen seared in pain as she struggled to keep herself from collapsing.

"Naoto-kun!" Rise screeched as she stumbled forwards and yet another gunshot fired a bullet that just skimmed past her check! A savage growl alerted the young detective of what Tantei was about to do causing her to call his name desperately!

"Tantei! Don't! Arggh!" she cried, aiming her gun at the enemy's hand in an attempt to disarm him! Another shot flared forward knocking the gun out his hand but not before he could fire one last shot...

Tantei had attacked the mans arm to finish him as one of the two police officers attempted to hand cuff him. That final shot had torn the young puppy's shoulder as it flew past and struck the, already struggling, Naoto's leg finally causing her to topple over! She had successfully disarmed the madman who had finally been apprehended but...

"Naoto-kun! Tantei!" The puppy barked in triumph as the police officer took the psychopathic lunatic away before turning and limping towards the now unconscious Naoto. Rise was knelt beside her trying to wake her up as the second police officer approached.

"There's an ambulance on its way so don't worry. I'm sure Shirogane-san will be fine. Is he a friend of yours?" His calm voice seemed to break the tension slightly.

"Um yeah... we are." The idols gaze fell to Tantei in worry.

"Ah... Right I'll call the vet right away then!" He slid his phone out of his pocket and after some moments the man smiled at them reassuringly. It wasn't long before the sound of sirens howled in the distance. Tantei whimpered as he nuzzled his owner affectionately, before laying down awkwardly beside her. Rise held Naoto's hat – which had fallen to the ground earlier – close to her chest.

"It's okay Tantei... She'll be fine..." she said as she held back tears...

* * *

"Hello?" Rise spoke into her phone unable to keep the pain and worry out of her voice as she clutched both Naoto's hat and her mobile.

"Hey Rise. What's up? Where are you and Naoto?" Yosuke's voice answered her curiously. "Why do you sound so glum?"

"Oh... Yeah I never told... you..." Her voice shook as she struggled to hold back another wave of pained tears.

"Tell me what?"

"W-well... I'm at the hospital right now because... Naoto-kun... she..." tears began to roll down her face as she recalled what had happened. How both Naoto and Tantei had been seriously hurt because of her...

"Wha-The hospital?! What happened? We'll be there in a minute! You can explain then!" He hung up... Leaving Rise to sob in a small waiting area near the place they had taken her friend... She hardly noticed someone sit down next to her.

"Are you Rise Kujikawa?" An old smartly dressed man spoke to her and sighed as she nodded without looking up at him. "I am Naoto-chan's grandfather Kashikoi Shirogane. Please, tell me what happened." The idol turned to him, the severe worry in his voice showing just how much he cared for her. Another man in a black tuxedo and black sunglasses stood next to them with the same worried expression.

"I... Its my... fault... someone tried to... shoot me... and... and..." she sobbed loudly. "Naoto... and Tantei... they protected... me but..."

"They ended up getting shot themselves..." Kashikoi finished her explanation for her. "I can assure you that unless you deliberately asked that person to attempt to murder you then it is far from your fault, my dear." Rise stared at him confusedly. Before nodding as she understood what he meant. "Oh and this is Yakushiji-san. The estate's secretary." She knew that but didn't complain.

"Rise-san!" called the familiar voice of Yosuke as he and the others rushed towards her. The idol stared at them blankly as they approached.

"Rise-chan! What's wrong?" Teddie looked incredibly concerned. As did everyone else.

"Allow me." Rise nodded at Kashikoi for him to explain as more tears fell down her face.

"I am Kashikoi Shirogane. Naoto-chan's grandfather and this is Yakushiji-san. The Shirogane estate's secretary. It would seem there has been a rather unfortunate incident including both this young lass here and my granddaughter. The puppy was involved as well." The others all sat down with Yosuke comforting Rise as she sobbed.

"Kujikawa-"

"Rise." The idol cut him of not liking her last name being used to refer to her.

"My apologies. Someone had attacked Rise-san here and Nao-chan and Tantei had come to help. This person harboured a gun and in the process of helping your friend the two of them suffered some serious injuries."

"Woah no way..." Chie's voice was filled with sympathy.

"She... she was... knocked uncon-...cious..." Rise added between sobs. "Tantei is at... the vets... now... He wasn't... hurt to much... but... Naoto...kun" There was a deafening silence as they were the only ones in the room and no one really wanted to speak. The only sound was the depressed and worried sobs of the young idol.

"Well I guess I should call Souji and tell him whats going on... I never got to tell you guys but he was gonna come see us in a couple days and he'll wanna know whats happened." Yosuke's voice broke the silence. "Man he's gonna be devastated..." he pulled out his phone only to quickly put it away again as a doctor stepped out of the doorway. His eyes widened at the large group of people.

"Are you all here to see Naoto Shirogane?" Everyone nodded making him sigh in annoyance. "Well she's going to be okay, but she's asleep at the moment and we can only allow two visitors at the moment as it's not visiting hours." He looked towards the elder Shirogane before asking, "Are you a blood relative?"

"Yes. Myself and Yakushiji-san here are Nao-chan's only family. Yakushiji-san, could you stay here while this young lass comes with me first?" He looked at Rise and smiled reassuringly. "Would it be okay if we all came in to see her separately?" The doctor sighed in defeat and nodded.

"Just this once."

"Then its settled. Whoever wishes to see my granddaughter can see her after me and Rise-san return. If that is okay with you." Rise nodded before standing up to follow the Shirogane to Naoto's room.

* * *

**Authors Note!  
I told you it was going somewhere! I probably did this in a bad way with the sudden climax but oh well! Its my fan fiction and I'll do what I want with it! Sorry guys! It'll go back to the friendly stuff soon! PROMISE! I also had bout a thousand ideas for this chapter so I might write a few separate stories to clear my crazy mind of these ideas! SOOOOOO please Read &amp; Review! Input always helps my writing get better and I like to know people actually read this stuff! :D :D :D :D :D :D**


	4. Chapter 4

Rise gasped as she entered Naoto's hospital room. Wires connected with her arms that led to drips and other medical equipment, an oxygen mask covered her face as well as a small white plaster over her cheek and the idol was rather glad she couldn't see were the bullets had hit her, which were most likely bandaged. She felt fresh tears slowly fall down her checks as she watched the pint-seized detective's chest gently rise and fall as she breathed.

"Hello Nao-chan." Her friend's grandfather sat down on the chair next to her and held her hand. "Rise-san is here to see you as well not just me." He turned to her before adding, "Your voice can do wonders to anyone my dear. Especially when they're in a hospital." Rise hesitantly stepped forward as he turned his gaze back to Naoto.

"H-hi Naoto-kun..." she chocked back a sob. "I'm so sorry this happened... I-I... Thank you Naoto-kun!" She sobbed that last part. Kashikoi smiled at her as he could tell how worried she was. If the two of them hadn't agreed not to mention Tantei before they had entered then she probably would have mentioned him by now. It felt wrong to deprive her of knowledge about her beloved companion, but she knew it was for the best. That sort of news might put her in a worse condition...

"I um... Everyone's outside waiting to see you. They're seriously worried about you, ya know!" She forced her voice to stay as cheery as possible. "Er... Yakushiji-san's here to!" Sighing she turned to Kashikoi with a look that just said 'can I go?' He nodded before gently kissing his granddaughters forehead.

"I will return later on my dear. I believe your friends may wish to see you." Rise took one final sorrowful glance back at her sleeping friend before leaving with the same friend's grandfather.

"How is she?" Yukiko's soft, gentle voice urged her to smile calmly. Well as calmly as you can get after crying so much...

"She's fine... are you going in?" her voice shook despite her efforts to keep it steady and remain calm. She desperately wished she had Naoto's calm mind...

"We probably should... Come on Yukiko." Replied Chie as the two of them stood up to take their place.

"Do not fret Yakushiji-san. She'll pull through. You know she will!" The elder Shirogane's voice seemed to reassure the secretary as he relaxed slightly.

* * *

"Hmm? Where am I?" her voice echoed around her as she stood in what seemed to be empty blueness. Naoto spun around at the sound of voices. Familiar voices. "Damn it! I was shot wasn't I?!" The realization hit her like a brick to the face as she finally understood what was going on. She was shot, fell unconscious and is most likely in a state where she can hear and sense other people but she cannot respond to them... at all... "Oh great... Wait is that Rise-san? And Grampa?"

_"__Hello Nao-chan."_ She smiled as she heard her Grampa. Her father figure for many years._ "Rise-san is here to see you as well not just me." _There was pause as she felt something grip her hand gently. _"Your voice can do wonders to anyone my dear. Especially when they're in a hospital."_

"Ah... She probably thinks this is her fault... And she's most likely crying..." She could have sworn she hadn't said that allowed... "Wait, this is my mind so..."

_"__H-hi Naoto-kun..."_ Naoto felt a slight burst of triumph as she now knew her assumptions were correct. _"I'm so sorry this happened... I-I... Thank you Naoto-kun!"_

"Hey Naoto-chan!" She spun around and gasped as her shadow self stood a few feet away, smiling brightly. "Don't worry so much! I'm you and you're me! I'm not going anywhere! After all I am from your heart. It's only normal to see me here." The shadows tone got peppier as she spoke. The detective prince smiled uneasily at it before her attention flew back to Rise.

_"__I um... Everyone's outside waiting to see you. They're seriously worried about you, ya know!"_

"Yay! They care about us Naoto!" Naoto nodded in affirmation at her double.

_"__Er... Yakushiji-san's here to!"_

"She wants to leave... I suppose she doesn't like seeing me like this..." This time it was the shadows turn to nod.

_"__I will return later on my dear. I believe your friends may wish to see you." _She felt something soft touch her head affectionately.

"Aww Grampa's worried! Do they have to go?" The shadow pouted slightly as the sound of footsteps got more distant.

"Afraid so... It may not be visiting hours." She looked at her other pouting self. "Don't worry. Remember were not alone right?" The shadow smiled brightly again as she realised what the original meant. A few moments passed before they could her more footsteps approach.

"Oooooooo who do you thinks there? I bet its Grampa or Yakushiji!"

"No... There's two people here and they're walking much too softly to be them... Hmm..." A small gasp interrupted them completely giving away who it was.

"Chie." The two Naoto's spoke in perfect unison.

_"__Holy crap! I thought she said she was fine!"_

_"__Chie calm down. I doubt Naoto-kun would want to hear that..."_

"Hmm so Yukiko-senpai and Chie-senpai are here..." She turned to her double who looked equally annoyed at the steak loving girl's first words.

_"__Yeah... I guess your right... Sorry Naoto-kun. Its just I wasn't expecting you to... well..."_

"Is she overreacting or being completely serious?! Do I look like a monster or something?!" Naoto's double just shrugged at her reaction.

_"__Hello Naoto-kun. We umm... we heard what happened." _Yukiko's soft voice sounded devastated.

_"__Yeah! You sure are brave! No wonder you're an ace detective!"_

"Suck up..." Naoto glared at her double. "What? Chie-chan's clearly worried and trying to make you feel better! So she's a–"

_"__Yeah. You and... Umm you saved Rise-san's life!"_

"'And?'" she gasped in realisation. "Tantei! Oh god is he ok?!"

_"__Well... It's great to see your still fighting! I guess... Um don't forget! We haven't had that movie night we said we'd do yet! Right?"_

"I thought she forgot about that!" The shadow smiled excitedly.

_"__And I was thinking about inviting everyone to the inn soon. You'll know why when Yosuke tells you."_

"Tells me what? And what about Tantei?"

"Aren't I supposed to be the annoying shadow here? NOT you?" Naoto glared at the shadow again.

_"__Well we should probably get going now so C'Ya later Naoto-kun!"_

"Why won't they stay longer?" Shadow Naoto pouted again.

"I told you its probably not visiting hours." Her shadow had helped calm her down slightly. She was right... It's not her job to be annoying.

_"__Get well soon Naoto-kun! And like I said, Yosuke will explain everything so...umm goodbye Naoto-kun."_

"He better..."

"How's he gonna know about Tantei?" Shadow Naoto rolled her eyes in annoyance earning herself yet another death glare. The two looked up again as different people took the place of the last. The footsteps were heavier for one person and light for the other.

"Is it Yosuke? Naoto is it Yosuke?"

"I hope so. Its most likely Kanji with him though... Strange... He can barely look at me normally and yet he's here..."

"His face probably looks like a tomato!" The detective chuckled at her shadows comment.

"Quite likely."

_"__Er... Hey..."_

"Aww you were right! It is Kanji-kun!"

_"__Hey Nao-chan! You don't look to good..."_

_"__What did you expect? She was shot! Damn it! Thee times!"_

"Ugh... Why does he always insist on yelling...? And did he say '_three_ times'?"Naoto was beginning to worry a lot more then she should. "Is it really that bad?"

_"__Kanji! I don't think Nao-chan likes it when you shout."_

_"__Yeah? Suppose your right Ted. Sorry Naoto."_

"Is his face red?" questioned the shadow curiously as if Naoto could see. She shrugged in response suddenly curious herself.

_"__Anyway. Doctor said ya' ain't gonna be out for a bit. So were gonna come visit ya' here!"_

_"__Yeah Nao-chan! We'll come visit you till you can leave here! We wont leave you all by your bear-some! Nope! Never!"_

"Bear jokes! Their bear-rific!" Her childish self squealed in excitement. "Tell us more Teddie!"

"Please don't..."

_"__Hey Ted... We should probably go so Yosuke-senpai can explain that... _thing_ and so that Yakushiji-san can see 'er." _

_"__Okey Dokey! Bye Nao-chan! Get bear-tter soon!"_

"Yay! More bear-tatstic bear jokes!" Naoto couldn't help but slam the palm of her hand into her forehead.

"Imbecile..."

_"__Hey Naoto-kun..."_

_"__Greetings Naoto-sama. Oh my..." _

_"__Uh ha ha... um well I didn't know wires were used like that..."_

"Wait, what? Wires?" Shadow Naoto shrugged as she stared in disbelief at her.

_"__I hope she knows you mean the tubes for the drips Hanamura-san..."_

"A drip?" The detective turned to the shadow again. Who simply replied:

"Plural."

"What?!"

"Yakushiji-san said _drips _not drip. See? Plural."

"Well at least its not wires..." She mumbled obviously relieved.

_"__Perhaps you should tell her the news. You did make sure that you would be the one to inform her of it."_

_"__But what if she can't hear me?"_

_"__Then just tell her again later."_

"Just tell us! Yakushiji-san, make him tell us!" The shadow was growing impatient.

_"__Fine... Okay so... Um since its nearly golden week, our friend from out of town should be visiting. You know who I'm on about right? Well you two, do have a thing going on right? I mean come on! It's been obvious for ages!"_

"What?! Souji-senpai? Does he mean senpai? How did he know about that?!"

_"__Every time you guys got close your watches would bleep and when I asked the time and you showed me it, you kinda gave it away there... Sorry by the way..."_

"Is he forgetting I still have a working gun?"

"Hahaha! If he told the others then he's dead steak for Chie's next lunch!" The double giggled with a mischievous grin on her face.

"Agreed." Naoto smirked in agreement.

_"__Er... Well I told him about this just a moment ago..."_

"He's dead." The twin detectives spoke in perfect unison.

_"__Sorry about that... But if it's any consolation, he's coming back as soon as he can! Seriously! He said he was gonna go call Dojima-san and ask if he can come back any day now!"_

"Hmm... Yep he's still steak to-be! He told senpai! I don't want him to worry about me!" They grinned at each other as they said that last part in unison.

_"__Anyway I hope you get better soon! I'll come visit of course but still..."_ He paused. _"Well C'Ya later Naoto-kun!"_ He left...

_"__Well Naoto-sama, I'm glad to see your pulling through this. I should leave you to rest. Goodnight."_

"So what now?" Naoto stared at her double curiously as it spoke. "You wanna play a game?"

"I thought I was supposed to rest..." Stupid answer. If this was a dream then that would mean she was resting.

"It's a dream! You can do anything you want! Your always asleep until the end of it!"

"Hmm..." a thought suddenly came to her head. Anything? Really? An image of an incredibly tall tree came to mind. Focusing on that image the blueness around them began to morph into the scenery from her mind. "To be honest I didn't expect that to work."

"Last one to the tops a rotten egg!" The two of them instantly began scrambling up a huge oak tree, bounding from branch to branch in their haste to reach the top first! Their breathing never changed. No tiredness dragged them down as they scurried up the tree like squirrels!

...

...

"How long do you think I've been asleep?" asked Naoto curiously once they'd both reached the top at the same time.

"How should I know? If you wanna wake up why don't you let me fight you?"

"F-fight?" She couldn't keep the slight nervousness out of her voice.

"Yeah! It'd be fun! As soon as you feel pain you should wake up! Lets see how long you can last!" Shadow Naoto's excitement seemed contagious as she stated the challenge.

"Lets." She quickly focused on the idea of a decent fighting arena. The only thing that came to mind was the area at the exit out of the TV world. "Will this do?"

The two of them quickly stood up as the ground materialized beneath their feet.

"Great! Bet you can't beat me!"

"Let's find out shall we? Wait! Your not going to turn into the cyborg from before are you? That wouldn't be fair!"

"Of course not! I'll just have my fists! Same as you!" That brought another idea to mind... focusing on another image the two of them began to morph. The pair of them now had laser blasters and hover boards. Childish yes but oh well! This was her dream and she was going to take advantage of it!

"How about this instead?" The shadow laughed excitedly as her original spoke and the morph completed. Naoto swiftly launched of the ground on her hover board, whizzing past her shadow before shouting, "Race you to Yukiko's castle!" she laughed in delight at this ridiculous dream! Glancing back at her double she grinned as she noticed her catching up. She focused again on something a little more calm and before she knew it Tantei was barking in excitement in a hover cart nearby! This was by far the best dream she had ever had! She could do anything she wanted to do! Go anywhere she wanted to go and see anyone she wanted to see! But this was enough for her. A hover board race between Naoto, her shadow and Tantei... Yep! Best dream EVER!

* * *

**Authors Note!**

**I'm SORRY if I went to overboard with this! It just goes to show how crazy my mind really is... But yeah I did say that Souji and Naoto were together. I am playing through Persona 4 Golden for the first time so its actually part of the timeline for me. DONT WORRY I WILL NOT PUT ANYTHING INAPPROPRIATE OR ANYTHING OTHER THEN REALLY BAD TALKS! This story is also set after the game. Anyway please Read &amp; Review! It always makes my day to see that people actually read this stuff! :D :D :D !**

**PS.**

**Tantei isn't mentioned much in this chapter because of reasons to do with the story arc I am trying to create! He cant show up in a hospital anyway! But he can appear in his master's dreams... o_O**


	5. Chapter 5

_"Hello Naoto."_

Naoto stopped dead in her tracks. She had been chasing Tantei and her shadow in an attempt to get her hover board back. Still in dream land of course. Tantei barked at the sudden stop making her shadow turn to face her.

"That was..."

_"I came back to Inaba from Tokyo for you."_

"Senpai?" The detective's voice was a mere squeak.

_"I missed you." _She felt something grasp her hand tightly.

"One of you hit me right now!" Both the shadow and Tantei glanced at each other before returning to her. "If he's here then I must wake up! He's going to worry..."

_"I know what you're thinking. You're probably trying to force yourself awake to stop me from worrying too much. If you did that, you wouldn't do yourself much good."_

"Naoto-chan calm down! You can just summon him in your dreams right?" The double smirked as her original instantly threw her a death glare.

"That wouldn't be fair though..." She raised a hand to her mouth to bite it. "What...?" Inflicting self harm didn't work? "Does this mean... I'm dead?"

"No you idiot!" The shadow's voice seemed to control the puppy as he suddenly dashed towards the dumbstruck Naoto. "Self harm never works in abnormal dreams! Now hurry and wake up! Get senpai to talk to us!" Its childish voice was drowned out as her consciousness began to return at the puppy's bite.

"Ugh..."

"Naoto?" She struggled to do anything. Awake? Yes. Responsive? No... "It's okay Naoto. Go back to sleep. You need the rest."

...

"GOD DAMN IT!" The young detective's eyes widened as she woke up again in her blue dream land.

"Geez Naoto-chan! Calm down! You'll just end up hurting yourself more!" Her shadow appeared again in the icy blueness of her original dream.

"NO!" She dived onto the floor hoping it would harm her enough to shake her consciousness again. It didn't... "What?"

_"Calm down Naoto. I know what you're trying to do, so don't. If not for yourself then do it for me. Just rest."_

"Damn it Souji!"

"Now, now Naoto. Do as you're told!" Her shadow snickered as she watched Naoto face plant the floor, her cap long since forgotten at the shadows feet.

"SHUT UP!" Her annoyance evident in her voice as she screamed at the double.

_"Now look what you've done. Looks like I'll have to go now." _

"Wait what?" His voice had shaken with pain and worry as suddenly a loud beeping noise had blasted through the silence from before. This was bad...

"Like I said stupid! Calm down and he'll worry less! Your gonna knock yourself into a worse place doing this!" Naoto stared at her double before rolling onto her back, with deep soothing breaths.

"Stupid is quite an accurate description isn't it?" she mumbled as the beeping stopped.

"Yep! Now what are we gonna do?"

_"Thank you."_

"Damn it... When do you think they're going to tell us about Tantei?" Naoto spoke as the puppy appeared beside her. "They've yet to say anything! I'm beginning to think they're avoiding the subject!"

"I dunno. Maybe he's –"

"Not another word!" She sat up in an instant to cut the shadow of. She knew what she was going to say and she didn't want to hear it! "Perhaps it is best they haven't said anything yet..."

"Maybe... Can we go racing again? Or have a snowball fight, or something?"

"Fine. He's probably gone now anyway..."

"Ooooo! Can we be dragons? Maybe Griffins? How about–"

"How about no?"

"Awww..." Focusing on another image the two of them found themselves in a plain of snow. "Snowball fight it is!"

_Arf! Arf!_

"Come on Tantei! Let's bury her in snow!" The pup barked again in excitement at his owners comment.

* * *

"HA!" Naoto cried as her shadow's face meet the snowball she'd just thrown. They'd been doing this for a while now. Chasing each over in every snow filled scene the detective could thing of. At this point they both had aquamarine coloured scarfs and deep blue gloves. Even Tantei had icy blue accessories. "Whoa!" She screeched as she tripped over her own feet sending her hurtling down a new hill and crashing into a tree. "Ow... Why did that hurt?" Shadow Naoto and Tantei were at her side in an instant with one of them laughing hysterically. She sat up as she waited for her double to calm down and explain.

"You're probably waking up! But seriously! You went flying down the... and you just disappeared over the hill and..." Naoto glared at her double as she burst out laughing again. Scooping up some more snow she launched it at the annoying twins face and grinned smugly as it hit her target.

"What was that about waking up?" Her voice turned serious as she questioned the shadow.

"Oh yeah. I forgot to mention! After awhile in these dreams you will eventually wake up. Whether it's by us hurting you or not. Simple!" The shadow nodded before it's eyes widened. "Er that explains it then..."

"What? Explains what?" Looking down at her hands she realised what the double meant. Her hands were suddenly becoming more and more transparent.

_Arf! Arf!_

"Tantei?" The puppy by her side shook its head as the bark echoed through the world once again...

"T...Tan...tei?" Her eyes slowly opened as something licked her face. She smiled as she saw Tantei – The real Tantei – sat beside her licking her face with an excitedly wagging tail. The detective's hands moved as swiftly as they could to hug the excited puppy. Her week embrace caused the puppy to stop licking and lay down to rub his face against hers. She then noticed the other people in the room and began to register what they were actually saying.

"Oh thank goodness she's awake!" Yukiko smiled in relief.

"Geez you really gave us a scare there!" Yosuke sounded as nonchalant as ever.

"I'm glad to see your with us again Nao-chan." Her grandfather was sat beside her. His eyes glittering with relief.

"Nao-chan your awake! We were so bear-y worried about you!" Teddie's stupid joke made her smile widen.

"Hey, where's Rise-san? She'll wanna see this!" Now that Chie had mentioned it she noticed that everyone except Yakushiji, Rise and Souji were there. Tantei licked her face again as she tried to sit up. She accepted the elder Shirogane's help before taking the oxygen mask away from her face. Her eyes widened as she noticed just how crowded the room looked. Were this many people even allowed in a hospital room at once? Was a dog even allowed in the hospital in general?

"H... Hello everyone." Her croaky voice sounded like she hadn't drank anything in days! "What are you all doing here?" She knew the answer to that but she wanted to hear it in the real world, not her head.

"We came ta see ya of course! What else would we be 'ere for?"Naoto gave Kanji an agitated look as he raised his voice unnecessarily again. "Uh sorry..."

"Really?" Everyone looked at her shockingly curious expression and nodded in unison.

"Of course we did!"

"Yeah! We even convinced the doctors to let us bring Tantei with us to!"

"Rise-chan came as well but she always cried and Yosuke said she wouldn't answer her phone!" She had been smiling until that point as a pang of guilt hit her like a stab to the chest.

"Here Nao-chan, try this." Naoto took the glass of water from her grandfather gratefully. Taking a sip she thought about what Teddie had said and about the voices she heard in her crazy dreams.

"I heard you all. You all spoke to me at one point or another. And... Is he...?" She glanced up at Yosuke who nodded knowingly, making her face light up. Tantei – who was still laid beside her – barked excitedly as he shifted to lay his head on her lap. Scratching his head she looked down at him again smiling.

"Wait, did you say you heard us? Does that mean all of us? And you heard me..." Chie's uneasy voice made the others all turn to her.

"Yes I heard you talking about that police incident..." Her face became smug as Chie's face went red with embarrassment. "Don't worry I won't tell them."

"You better not!" Yosuke's expression was similar to Chie's. She had come to see Naoto on her own and had told her that she and Yosuke had been caught by the police skipping school at Okina city.

"I won't if you can give me a good reason as to why you told Souji-senpai about what happened. It would also save you a bullet to the head." She smirked slightly as she watched him shift uncomfortably.

"Dude you two are –" realising what he was about to say she decided it was best to ask him later.

"I'll hear you're answer later." She quickly cut him of making it his turn to smirk smugly. Everyone stared at Naoto in disbelief. She normally never prevented someone from answering her own questions. "Is Rise-san still blaming herself for this...?" At least that drew their attention away from the subject of what they were both hiding.

"Yeah. She just started avoidin' us and stopped goin' ta school an stuff."

"Sensei's gone to find her." Teddie's worried voice caused that worry to spread to Naoto.

"She was always either here or at home." Yukiko's soft voice sounded worried as well. "She hardly speaks to us anymore either..."

"Hey why don't you call her Naoto-kun? I bet she'd answer if you did!" Naoto blinked thoughtfully at Chie's suggestion. She gave her grandfather a questioning look making him sigh and nod in reply. He knew that once she had an idea there was little chance of stopping her.

"Okay. It can't hurt to try at least." Turning around he pulled her mobile phone out of her jacket pocket which hung from a coat hanger on the wall. As soon as she received the phone she swiftly dialled the number from memory and waited impatiently as it called her friend.

...

...

"N-naoto-k-un?" Rise's shaky voice caused the young detectives expression to fall guiltily.

"Rise-san? Are you ok?" Her voice croaked slightly as the effects of the water began to wear of.

"OH THANK GOD YOUR OKAY NAOTO-KUN! I WAS SOOOOOOOO WORRIED!" Naoto quickly moved the phone away from her ear as the idol screamed and sobbed down the line.

"Rise-san... please calm down..."

"Okay! I'm coming over right now!" She hung up.

"Dude, we could hear her from here!" Yosuke wasn't lying!

"She's on her way here now right? She'll probably run into Souji-kun too!" She couldn't help but smile at that. They are together after all.

The friends conversed animatedly between each other as they awaited the arrival of both Souji Seta and Rise Kujikawa. However it wasn't long before the young detective's limited energy began too falter and her actions became more groggy and tired. Apparently about a week or so of rest doesn't give you much energy...

"Naoto-kun!" The sudden squeal made Naoto jump and her head spun round to see Rise burst through the door. As soon as she saw the detective she raced over towards her before catching her in a tight embrace. Not long after this, Souji strolled calmly into the room. "Oh I'm so glad you're ok! I'm so sorry this happened! I'm so sorry Naoto-kun!"

"R...R-rise-san... please let go...!" Tantei instantly jumped to her aid and covered the idols face in slobber, making her move away. "Arggh..." She clasped her side in pain as the hug seemed to have done more harm then good.

"I'm sorry!"

"It's ok Rise-san. It's not your fault I'm here." Rise was practically crying! Again... "Please stop crying Rise-san! You've done that to much recently..."

"H-how...?"

"She ain't death! Course she knows!" Rise stared at Kanji blankly.

"Oh..."

"Hello Naoto." Naoto only just noticed the silver haired teen in the doorway.

"Senpai!" she smiled warmly at him who returned the gesture.

"What are you waiting for partner? Go see your gir-"

"How have you been Senpai?" Souji only sighed at the detective who'd just cut Yosuke's sentence short.

"They're going to find out eventually. Why not just tell them now?" She shifted uncomfortably as all eyes turned towards her.

"You've obviously confirmed Yosuke's suspicions so you can tell them..."

"Tell us what Nao-chan? It sounds bear-y important!"

"Well, me and Naoto are in a relationship." Everyone froze to stare at Souji as he approached a very red Naoto who refused to shift her gaze from the bed sheets.

"So you do have a stud Nao-chan!" Tantei growled at the stupid bear in annoyance.

"You're kidding me!" The steak loving girl stared in a jealous sort of way. _'Yeah! Be jealous!' _Her shadow cried triumphantly in the back of her mind.

"That's great news you two." Yukiko had a rather crestfallen expression on her face.

"So this is the man you brag about at the estate..." Kashikoi Shirogane had a kind expression as he watched Souji sit on the bed beside Naoto.

"You brag about me?" Her face was bright red as he lifted her chin to face her.

"I... may have mentioned you a few times..." Her grandfather shook his head as he watched her glare at him tiredly.

"Right! Well, I think perhaps we should leave Nao-chan to rest. After all she'll want to focus on recovery now she knows your all here for her." He gave a meaningful look at the silver haired teen before taking his leave.

"Yeah... Come on guys lets talk about this later." Yosuke led the others outside. Souji kissed the back of her hand before taking Tantei out of the room with him.

"Goodnight Naoto... Sweet dreams."

* * *

**Author's Note!**

**Yeah don't kill me! Naoto x Souji! I'm sorry I couldn't think of anything else for him to do! Promise next chapters are gonna be completely random conversations between Naoto and the others so yeah please don't kill me for dragging this hospital thing on for to long! IT WILL GO SOMEWHERE! PROMISE! I also don't like romance much at all so don't expect to much from me in that regard... ANYWAY please Read &amp; Review! It still makes me more then excited at the thought of people actually spending time to read this! I love hearing from you and I would love to hear your opinions on this.**

**PS**

**Tantei broke the rules and got into the hospital! Dun dun dun...**


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey Naoto-kun. How're you doing?" Naoto glanced up briefly as Yosuke Hanamura entered her hospital room. Her grandfather had given her a rubix cube to keep her occupied whilst she was awake.

"Hello Yosuke-senpai. I'm doing much better thank you." She was only half listening to what he had to say as he came to sit beside her on the visitor's chair.

"Little old school isn't it?" He spoke jokingly but he could tell how absorbed she was in it when she nodded in agreement absentmindedly. She suddenly smiled triumphantly as the cube clicked into place for the final time. Placing it on the bedside table she turned her attention back to Yosuke. "How long did that last you?"

"An hour? Maybe more..." She shrugged as if she didn't really care. He noticed that she was wearing her signature hat again.

"Hey, what's this?" Yosuke took a few sheets of paper from the table to see them properly. On one was the image of a crazy motorbike and the other was a picture of a dog wearing a bandana with her persona Sikuna-Hikona on the other side. The images were beautifully detailed, in both drawings and technical notes on the motorbike. It was clear that the dog with the bandana was Tantei as it was unbelievably accurate. "Whoa, did you draw these?" His voice was disbelieving as Naoto blushed and took the pictures from him.

"Y-yes. I-I did drew them." She stammered slightly in embarrassment.

"Dude, that's awesome!"He had an amazed look on his face as he stared at her. "I didn't know you liked motorcycles!"

"Oh erm... Yes I do. I can't think of anyone who doesn't." She smiled calmly at him.

"I think you can. The other girls and Kanji don't exactly love them." Naoto's eyes widened at the statement.

"Really? I would have thought at least Chie would like them. Have they not got one?"

"No way! It's only me and Souji that have one. Unless you do." Her gaze suddenly saddened as she replied;

"No. I don't have one. I'm not sixteen. My Grampa said he'll let me get one once I have my licence though."

"Seriously? Well when's your birthday?" Yosuke crossed his arms in annoyance.

"April 27th. Why? When's yours?" Her curiosity got the best of her and she couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, so you don't have too long to wait at least. And its the 22nd of June. Lets hope my dad has pity on me and gets me an actual motorbike."

"I thought you had one?"

"Nah its a scooter that Hanako Ohtani broke by sitting on it..." Naoto's pitiful gaze showed how much she knew how it felt to have something broken by someone like that...

"Well, why don't you just fix it? It shouldn't be to difficult..." Her gaze turned thoughtful as she remembered the extensive knowledge she had on repairing motorbikes.

"I doubt it. The witch had it in pieces and I had to ride with Kanji on his bike. Anyway how do you know how easy it would be?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised how much I know when it comes to motorbikes. What make is the scooter?"

"I don't know, a Honda something. Why? Does it matter?" Her eyes suddenly glittered with interest as the sheer amount of possibilities flooded her mind.

The two of them continued their conversation about motorcycles and scooters for a short while until the time came when Yosuke had to return to Junes.

"Hey why don't I see if I can get my partner to take you to Okina on his motorbike sometime? We can all go if you want." Naoto's eyes glittered with excitement at the thought of actually riding a motorbike.

"Okay! Sounds great!" she smiled kindly at him as he left.

"Okay cool. Well C'Ya later!"

"Bye!"

...

"What was that about?" Yosuke froze in at the sound of Chie's voice. "Did you just ask her out? On a motorcycle ride? And succeed without her knowing?" Chie seemed absolutely dumbstruck as he turned to face her.

"No! She's Souji's _girlfriend! _I'd be betraying him if I did something like that. We just had a talk about motorbikes and she seemed like she really wanted to ride one so-"

"So you decided to take her to Okina on one? Right?" Her teasing, accusing expression just made the heiress to Junes more agitated then he should be.

"No! I offered to ask Souji to take her! I said we could all go and make it a day trip! Besides..." He said in a calmer voice then before. "She's not my type anyway. Even when she's fan-girling over motorcycles."

"Fan-girling?" Chie stared at him confused.

"You know! Babbling on about them." She shrugged before stepping past him and into Naoto's room.

"Yeah. Later!"

* * *

"So, how does it feel to be loved by two?" Chie asked teasingly as she entered the hospital room to a confused looking Naoto who who was shuffling the colours on a rubix cube.

"Erm... What do you mean Chie-senpai?" Her curious expression showed just how bored she was when she didn't have visitors.

"He just asked you out!" the curious expression turned crimson as she glared at the brunette.

"What? No he didn't! He offered to ask Senpai of he could take me on a motorcycle ride to Okina. He then said we could make it a group outing. I... Um don't think that's er... 'Loved by two'..."

"Yeah it is! _He_ offered to do it!" Naoto's eyes widened in realisation before her expression turned mischievous... She didn't like that look...

"Oh I'm sorry Chie-senpai."This time it was Chie's turn to be confused. "I didn't mean to make you jealous, by taking Yosuke as well as Senpai." There was a teasingly, joking tone to her voice as the steak loving girls face turned a rosy colour.

"Wha-Huh? When did you become such a jerk?" Chie's shocked expression along with the fierce blush just made the detective smile jokingly.

"I suppose I have been spending too much time with both Yosuke-senpai and Teddie." Her smile turned kind as she preferred it to be before asking. "Perhaps you'll be the first person he invites on this trip."

"I doubt it!" She came to sit at Naoto's side as she once again completed the rubix cube with no problems before placing it back on the bedside cabinet.

"Oh? And why is that?" her questioning gaze bore into Chie's mind as if able to read her thoughts.

"Oh it's probably because he'll ask Rise-san first. After you of course."

"Hmm, maybe... Either way what makes you think I would accept a request such as that?" She had a slightly hurt look in her eyes as she waited for an answer.

"Cause... I don't know... You might like him? I don't know... Sorry Naoto-kun. I know you wouldn't two-time Souji-kun."

"It's fine Chie-senpai. Anyway there is no need to worry about anything like that. All we did was talk about motorcycles. It would seem we have at least one thing in common!" Smiling gently she awaited Chie's reply.

"Yeah, I heard. Yosuke said you were fan-girling over them."

"Oh, erm..." her face tinted pink slightly as she pulled the brim of her cap down low. "That is one way of describing it, I suppose..."

"Hey, why don't you ever take that hat of? I've hardly ever seen you without it!" This time it was Chie's turn to be the curious mind reader, though she suddenly regretted asking when Naoto's expression filled with sorrow and grief.

"I-it was given to me by someone I admired from a long time ago..." Her voice sounded longing as if she wished to see that person more then ever.

"Admired? You mean..." She gasped as she thought of something. "You loved this person?"

"I-in a way yes. However, not in a romantic way... H-he said 'if you e-ever felt lonely or missed me to much then to wear this hat and to keep it close at all times...' I-I..." Her voice choked slightly as her vision clouded with painful memories. "H-he hasn't been in contact with me or my Grampa in many years... W-we don't know where he is..." Chie instantly felt guilty as she watched Naoto bite back tears.

"Oh... I'm sorry Naoto-kun..." She wrapped her arm around the quaking detective's shoulders. "I'm sure you'll see him again someday..." Her soothing voice seemed to cause her quaking to ease greatly as she gripped the rim of her hat. "I see why you never told us before... Look did he say things like don't cry and stuff when he gave you it?" Naoto nodded.

"He said, 'don't cry over me. We are always f-friends...'" her voice had calmed and she seemed to be over whatever it was that shook her so much. She sighed longingly yet tiredly as Chie took her hand soothingly. "I feel so stupid... That all happened years ago and yet... I'm sorry about this..."

"It's okay Naoto-kun! Don't apologise! It's totally normal to still miss someone like that! I'm sorry I brought it up. I should have expected something like that..." Naoto finally looked up at her. She'd been avoiding eye contact since the topic was brought up and Chie only now realised how shaken she really was with the memories. Glaring at her still shaking hands she spoke up again;

"Some detective I am... Can't even move on from then..." Her voice filled with spite and agitation with just the tiniest hint of the sorrow from before.

"Hey, you will eventually! I know how about when you get out of this place we get Yosuke to buy us steak?" Naoto gave her a blank look as she tried to lift her friend's spirits. "We can take Tantei with us! I'm sure he would just _love_ steak!" This made the young detective smile tiredly before nodding in agreement.

"I'm sure he would." Chie gave her one last hug before rising to leave.

"I'm sorry Naoto-kun, but I can't stay. I have a dog to ya' know! Plus you look pretty spent, so rest up ok?"

"I will. Goodbye Chie-senpai and good luck with Yosuke-senpai."

As soon as the brunette left the room she sighed in a mixture of relief and guilt.

"I'm such an idiot..." She mumbled as she turned to walk away, practically crashing into Souji.

"Hey Chie. What's wrong? Is Naoto ok?" His calm voice soothed her growing unease.

"Oh, yeah Naoto-kun's fine. She was just about to call it a day..." Her emotions clearly showed in her voice.

"And?" she hesitated before answering.

"I asked her why she always wore that hat and may have almost made her cry..." He stared at her as she laughed awkwardly.

"Chie, is she ok?" The look he was giving her was – one of the very rare – worried expressions he wore.

"Whoa! Don't look at me like that I didn't know she'd be shaken that much by it!" the steak loving girl waved her hands in front of her face frantically, nervously.

"Chie. I don't blame you but is she ok?" When Chie nodded he let out a soft sigh of relief. "I'm sorry. I've been stressed lately and just got anxious is all. Well shall we go?"

"We?" Her eyes widened in confused shock.

"Yeah. She's gone to sleep right? No point in waking her so we'd might as well go back together."

"Oh... Okay! Sure!"

* * *

"Damn it..." Naoto mumbled as Chie left her room. Settling down to dream the thought of seeing her beloved cousin clung to her mind. She left the hat atop her head as she drifted into a lazy slumber. "Minato..."

* * *

"Big bro! Someone called Yakushiji-san is on the phone for you!" Called Nanako Dojima after answering the phone.

"Thank you Nanako. Hello?" He had somehow managed to hide his growing worry as he answered the call. "Yakushiji-san?"

"Ah... Hello Seta-san. I would like to request your help with something. A favour as it were." His voice was deep with awkward regret and guilt as he continued. "You see Naoto-sama's grandfather and I have an urgent matter to attend to out of town for a while. Naoto-sama herself insisted that we did not change our plans in leaving for awhile, but you see..."

"What can I do to help?" The eagerness in his voice was evident as he asked the secretary. The thought of helping the Shirogane's was a great one to Souji.

"Oh... erm... Do you remember Tantei? Well while Naoto-sama is still in hospital he has no one to take care of him so we thought perhaps you could tell us who could? Or perhaps be able to erm... puppy-sit him?" He hesitated at the request. This was a little different from his regular tasks... "Oh and he's still got his own injury from the incident so he is not as active as normal."

"Hmm... I'll see what I can do." He could just see his uncle Dojima's face when he would ask if they could puppy-sit.

"Oh thank you Seta-san!"

"When will you be leaving?"

"In two days. I'm sorry. I know this is a bit short notice but –"

"I'll do what I can." The secretary sighed in relief on the other side of the line.

"Okay. Well thank you kindly Seta-san."

"Oh and its Souji." The use of his last name was beginning to agitate the silver haired teen.

"Er, right Souji-san. Goodbye."

"Bye." He hung up. "Hey Nanako. How would you like to help me puppy-sit Naoto's puppy?" The six year old gasped in excitement.

"Can I?!"

"If Dojima says we can then yeah!" The two of them spoke animatedly between each other about the details of the puppy and when they were going to ask Dojima if they could take him in for awhile.

* * *

"YAY!" Nanako cried in excitement! "Were puppy-sitting Tantei!" Much to Souji's surprise it hadn't taken much to convince his uncle to let the pup stay with them for awhile.

"Sure. Why not? As long as you can take proper care of him yourselves then I'm okay with it." He had said at the time.

"Thank you ever so much for this Souji-san." Naoto's grandfather spoke with gratitude as Yakushiji handed a small bag to the silver haired teen.

"It's really no trouble at all." He smiled at them as Nanako took the leader clipped to Tantei's collar.

"If there are any problems then I'm sure either Nao-chan can provide you with the necessary advice. If not then you can always give us a call."

"Thank you Shirogane-san. We'll do our best."

"No. Thank you. Take care now! Come on Yakushiji-san." And with that the two of them left with Souji and Nanako close behind them. He glanced at Nanako who was holding his hand with one hand and Tantei's leader in the other. He smiled as the puppy padded side by side with the six year old as calm as can be... The only thing betraying his excitement was his swiftly wagging tail...

* * *

**Authors Note!**

**Sorry I don't know much about motorbikes so I couldn't really keep the conversation between Yosuke and Naoto going no matter how hard I tried! I also added the whole Yosuke X Chie hints thing that I will NEVER EVER carry on and stick to because I struggle to write as them anyway and I'm not to fused about that ship. I STILL DONT LIKE ROMANCE! And yes I did say Minato Arisato from P3 was Naoto's cousin and the one to give her that hat she loves so much. It just seems right for some reason... ANYWAY I noticed how I was accidentally giving a certain characters special parts. Like how Rise was attacked and how Chie comforted Naoto and they had their little fan moments for motorbikes... I honestly didn't even notice so yeah! :D :D :D Please Read &amp; Review! I would love to hear what you think and if I should carry on this pattern of character special moments!**

**PS**

**I also wrote part of this in my spare time after my school exams so yeah sorry if some of it sucks... ****I did the whole Souji and Nanako taking care of Tantei thing because I thought I could get some entertainment out of writing it and because its my fic and I'll do what I want with it! Lol :D**


	7. Chapter 7

"Come on Tantei! Big Bro says we can got to Samagawa!" Nanako urged the puppy to do anything but doze on the couch.

"Nanako. Don't forget that he was hurt as well as Naoto and he's probably in pain from the injury. He'll be worried about her as well so perhaps we shouldn't force him to come." Souji stepped towards the young pup before plonking himself down beside him. "Hey Tantei... Do you think Naoto would appreciate you not getting your daily trip to the Samagawa? She's always stressing about you whenever we talk you know." His calm voice perfectly masked the stupidity he felt as he spoke to a dog... Nanako smiled as Tantei whimpered, depressed at the thought of going anywhere without his beloved owner.

"Don't worry Tantei! I'm sure Naoto-kun will be back in no time!" The pup barked in affirmation before begrudgingly slipping of the couch and over to the six year old. She clipped the leader onto his collar before the three of them left for their trip to Samagawa.

The young pup trudged along the path a little behind Nanako who for once wasn't smiling. The worry on her face told Souji how much she actually cared the German Sheppard puppy, despite his lack in cooperation with anything requiring effort.

"Come on Tantei! If you keep walking like that Naoto-kun's going to get even more worried about you, when she needs to focus on getting better instead!" The six year olds comment seem to motivate him slightly as he raised his head and his pace increased t match that of Nanako's.

The second they reached the Samagawa Souji's phone rang, interrupting their conversation.

"Hey, Nanako! Try him with this." He passed her a tennis ball before answering his phone. "Hello?"

"Senpai?" An excited voice chimed from the line.

"Naoto? What's up?" At the mention of her name Tantei had instantly returned to him before barking up at the phone excitedly.

"Is that Tantei? How is he doing?"The joy in her voice had only grown after hearing her beloved companion in the background.

"He's been worrying about you. Didn't even want to leave the house for his walk. Anyway what has you so happy?" How hadn't he asked that question first?

"The doctors are discharging me!" Tantei barked in excitement at the sound of his owner, which made Souji's smile widen into something that could rival Igor.

"That's great! When? Should we come get you or something?" His relief seemed to get the best of him as he offered his company to his girlfriend.

"That'd be great! You see they won't let me leave without someone else. Considering I still can't walk properly I may require your assistance getting home." If Naoto Shirogane had literally just accepted his help offer then that must mean she felt like an idiot... She hated accepting help when she felt she didn't need it when she clearly did.

"Well me, Nanako and Tantei will be there in a couple of minutes! In fact we we're actually at Samagawa now so it shouldn't take too long."

"Thank you Senpai! I'm sorry about this, but if I'm immobilized then there is nothing I can do about it, except wait." Her voice showed just how helpless she probably felt.

"It's no problem at all! We'll be there soon."

"Right. Bye." She hung up.

"Is Naoto-kun allowed to leave the hospital?" Nanako's hopeful expression hastily transformed into a look of pure glee as Souji nodded his head in confirmation. "Yay!"

"Come on. We should go pick her up from the hospital." She clipped the leader back onto Tantei's collar before the three of them headed of towards the hospital. "Why don't you give her a surprise and call her big sis? She'd like that."

"Really, big bro?" Her questioning gaze was met with a kind smile. Tantei barked in affirmation, obviously knowing what he'd meant. "Okay! I'll do just that!"

"Hello Senpai. Where's Nanako and Tantei?" Naoto Shirogane sat in a wheelchair in her hospital room with one of the doctors beside her.

"Hello. She's waiting with Tantei outside." Souji smiled at her warmly as she looked up at him.

"Ah, Seta-san. Shirogane-san is free to go today, nut must return here weekly so we can check her progress." The doctor spoke as if the detective was now his responsibility.

"I apologise senpai. I may need some help getting around without my Grampa or Yakushiji-san." The expression on her face was enough to show how much she hated relying on him, or anyone at that.

"It's fine Naoto. Come on. Lets get you home." It was then that he remembered the cast on her leg and noticed the crouches leaning against the wall. Naoto nodded to him as he wheeled her out the room taking the crouches with him.

"Goodbye Shirogane-san. Don't forget to take it easy for a while!" The doctor who had left the room with them, told Naoto, calmly.

"Thank you doctor." Souji spoke up when the detective had only nodded in annoyed affirmation.

"Hey big bro!" called Nanako as the two of them left the hospital building. "Hey big sis!" Naoto's eyes widened at the girl's new name.

"Big sis?" She glanced up at Souji and smiled with approval, obviously knowing who would have come up with it. Her attention quickly turned to Tantei when he hoped onto her lap excitedly licking her face, causing her to burst out laughing. "Hello to you too Tantei!" She grinned when he finally stopped his excited slobbery assault. He laid down on Naoto's lap before stretching his head to give Nanako – who was stood next to them – a lick on the cheek.

"Come on. Lets go."

"Hey, Naoto-kun!" Naoto glanced up at Rise as she entered her living room. "Dojima-san told me you were let out the hospital." Ryotaro Dojima had picked her, Souji, Nanako and Tantei up from the hospital on his way home from work so it he probably told Rise the good news.

"Hello Rise-san. What brings you here?" The detective had only opened the gates to the Shirogane Estate with the intercom controls on the condition that she wasn't here to do anything for her. She knew her friend too well to think that she would let her do anything if she was around.

"I just came round to see you, of course!" At that Tantei dashed out from the kitchen to see the idol with a rope toy in his mouth. He dropped it at her feet before barking up at her, wagging his tail again in excitement. "You wanna play Tantei?"

"Er... I would sit down before doing that if I were you Rise-san." The detective's unease seemed to confuse the idol as she picked up the toy. In an instant Rise was knocked over by the puppy as leapt up for the toy and slammed into her.

"Whoa!"

"Tantei! Are you okay Rise-san?" Naoto would have swiftly attempted to help her up, but the fact that she couldn't even walk properly with aid prevented her from even standing.

"Yeah! I'm fine! Arggh!" She squealed as Tantei gave her a lick attack to the face! The young Shirogane couldn't help but smile at them as Rise struggled to get free from the ever growing puppy. "Naoto-kun!" she managed to gasp in between laughing and actually breathing. "Help!" Her attempts only excited the Tantei more as he seemed to be trying to lick her into a laughing fit that could rival that of Yukiko's.

"What was that?" Naoto pretended to not have heard her as she leaned forwards in her chair. "Alp? Alps? What are you asking of me?" Her teasingly, confused voice encouraged the dog further.

"HELP!" The idol cried desperately.

"Oh... Tantei. Leave her be." At once the puppy left Rise giggling on the floor to sit at his owner's side. She smiled at the idol that scrambled to her feet with the toy still in her hand. "Like I said, you should sit down with that." Rise instantly sat on the couch to the side of Naoto still trying to catch her breath after the attack. Tantei barked as he left his owners side to join her on the couch.

"I... See what... you mean..."

"Are you okay?" Naoto chuckled at her friend as she nodded.

"Yeah. I'll live." She smiled before adding, "How're you Naoto-kun? You feeling better or what?"

"Yes. I feel fine." She leaned back in her chair to add emphasize to her response. True she still felt pain in the areas where she was shot but that was understandable. They'd taken the plaster of her face at the hospital and in its place was a small scar that will most likely disappear in time and that was it. Nothing major was wrong with her at the moment.

"That's good! Hey how about I get you something to drink? I mean, since I'm here ya' know?" Naoto rolled her eyes at Rise's offer. She knew she would offer unnecessary assistance no matter what the detective did to avoid it.

"No thank you. I can do these things on my own." Blunt yes, but it agitated her every time she was offered help that she didn't need. Though in this case she may start to need it, as she broke an empty mug that she planned on using. There was no way she was going to tell this to Rise though.

"Uh huh. Yeah, sure you can. I bet you broke something when you tried to get something didn't you?"

"What? No!" How could she guess that? Was she using a persona or something to read her mind or something? Did Tantei tell her? Realising that was a stupid idea she mentally slapped herself for being such an idiot.

"Naoto-kun, you have that look on your face that says you know you need help but don't want to accept it. I've seen it a lot recently." _Damn..._ was all Naoto could think as she stared at her friend in a dumbfounded way.

"W-well..." She struggled to say as said friend rolled her eyes. Standing up she made her way towards the kitchen.

"You like it black right?"

"Yes." _Damn it all..._

**Author's Note!  
Hi! I went back and spell checked the previous chapters so yeah. That happened... I noticed the traffic graph number thingy go up by about 100 odd so yeah if I got your hopes up then I'm super sorry! Anyway I'll be finishing this story very soon so yeah please enjoy the rest of this! I have more stories planned and I am honoured to actually be to hopefully be entertaining you readers. :D :D True! So please Read &amp; Review! I love seeing your thoughts and knowing that people actually read this! I also noticed I say that every time I upload a new chapter... Oh well! It's true so it don't matter! :D :D :D**

**PS**

**I have no idea how to carry on my story called Persona 4 Sapphire. So that's why I haven't even touched it in almost 4 months... Sorry about that! I will finish it eventually or at least get a few more chapters done but I just got the game so yeah. Should really finish that first... :D :D!**


	8. Chapter 8

"Ready Tantei?" Naoto made sure that only her companion could hear her. As she loaded her gun. He gave her a comforting lick as they sat behind a crate waiting for the signal. It had been many years since they had saved Rise in Inaba and they had both been recognised in the in the police agency for their assistance. This time they had been called upon by the prefectural police to help take down a wanted criminal in Tokyo, with her faithful companion as an added request. Any second now and they would have the evidence they would need on the tape recorder in the pocket of the person said criminal came to see.

"Here! Take the money and leave my family alone!" At this point the criminal chuckled as he supposedly took the case from the man.

"I'll leave them alone once I have that ruby! Those guys won't know what hit 'em! I'll get a fortune from it! Now... Go get fetch." The outlaw's voice was cold and croaky.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"What do you think genius?! Either go get me that ruby or I'll slit your throat! That goes for your family too!" And there it is! That was all the evidence needed to give this outlaw a life sentence! Now was their time to put an end to this! As said outlaw turned to leave he found himself staring at the barrel of Naoto Shirogane's revolver and having Tantei's threatening snarl echoing through his ears!

"Drop your weapon!" She cried as his own gun was aimed at them. The dog barked to mimic her demand. The outlaw just laughed at the sight.

"What is this?! Some kids book?! A kid and a dog? Come on! That's ridiculous!"

"Drop your weapon!" She repeated as Tantei's snarl showed his sharp canine teeth!

"Oh for fu-" He never finished his sentence as Naoto cut him off.

"Surrender, and come quietly or we will not hesitate to use force!" Her strong threatening voice seemed to finally register in the outlaws mind as his face suddenly turned serious.

"Fine, use the force kid! You won't get far with it in this galaxy!" His gun fired at the two of them twice in the hopes of killing them! He was sadly mistaken as they easily dodged the bullets long before they got anywhere near them!

"Tantei!" At the sound of Naoto's voice he leapt forward as her own gun flared a shot at the outlaw's hand that harboured his gun. The dog latched onto his arm to spin him round so his back faced the young detective. Naoto was there in an instant to handcuff him as fell to the floor with both attacks succeeding.

"GET OF ME YOU STUPID MUTT!" He cried as Tantei let go of his arm and slammed his paws onto the back of the outlaws head.

"That's enough out of you." The young detective smiled as she dragged him to his feet and handcuffed him to a nearby structure, that she was sure wouldn't move if he struggled. Looking around the warehouse they were in she noticed where the other man had hidden during the events.

"Its over Miki-san. You don't have to hide anymore." When he didn't move from his hiding place she realised she had let her guard down for a few moments without realising it. Stepping forwards alongside Tantei the two of them moved defensively until they were far enough away from any hiding places that they were unable to see. She glanced down at the dog that seemed to scope out the area with his sensitive senses before he snarled in a certain direction. Following his gaze she pointed her gun towards the area he had snarled at. He barked in another direction as something sounding like metal collided with the ground.

"Who's there?!" Naoto demanded to whoever may be hiding. She quickly returned to the outlaw before pointing the muzzle of her gun at his forehead, whilst Tantei retrieved the other gun.

"Show yourself or I'll shoot him!"

"That'll get you no where mate! I may have partners but that doesn't mean they liked me. They'd love it if you shot me dead kid!" Her gaze never shifted to the outlaw as he spoke. Tantei was now standing defensively in front of her.

"Show yourselves you cowards!" That might work...

"Cowards? I think not!" Three men dressed in all black stepped forwards with smug looks on their faces. "Look at him! Thinks he's SOOO cool just cause he caught that guy!"

"Geez! Lets just kill him and his stupid mutt already! Then shoot him!" One of them sneered as he watched the dog snarl fiercely.

"Come on! Look at these guys! They're just beggin' to die!" Naoto took the second gun from Tantei before placing it in her pocket. The perfect distraction to her true purpose. With her gun now aimed at them she activated the walkie-talkie in her pocket to send a message to the others on this case.

All three were armed with one weapon or another. Two with knives and one with a gun. They were outnumbered two to three. At least they'd taken one of them out.

The two men with knives suddenly leapt forwards savagely swiping at them! At that same moment a gunshot echoed through the scene towards Naoto as she quickly fired at shot at one of them! Both shots hit their target, with one hitting an arm and the other hitting the side of the abdomen. She quickly re-aimed her gun, using the guy she'd just shot as cover!

Meanwhile Tantei struggled to avoid every strike from the enemy's crazy swinging knife as he attempted to knock him over. His jaw latched onto his hand that held the knife as a cruel sound like breaking bones reached his ears. The knife moved to the other hand as it came into contact with his leg! Releasing his grip on the now broken hand he slammed into the outlaw's legs making them both loose their balance!

Naoto opened fire upon the outlaw with the gun, aiming for his legs, his hands and his arms whilst he aimed for her face! The outlaw cried out in pain as every bullet she shot hit him in the desired places, immobilizing him! Every bullet he shot was clumsily aimed and none of them even came close to hitting her! He had obviously never aimed his gun at all! However her arm still seared with pain as she moved to help Tantei.

Tantei now struggled to stand as his shoulder was sliced by the blade once again! He spun round to bite his other hand but he had already moved to avoid him! He snarled as the outlaw fell to ground after a strike to the leg and the dog stumbled onto his back to keep him down!

"Tantei!" Naoto rushed towards him and disarmed the struggling outlaw before handcuffing him as Tantei slumped of his back. She desperately wanted to help him but to do that would put them at risk again.

After handcuffing the others to other unmoveable structures she sat next to Tantei with her walkie-talkie in her hand. She was about to ask where everyone was but she hadn't the chance as the backup that were supposed to arrive earlier stormed through the door!

"Everyone put your hands-" The leader of the group cut himself of as he lowered his gun. The problem had been dealt with! They were late! His gaze suddenly shifted to Naoto and Tantei, side by side on the floor together. "Shirogane-san! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but Tantei will require medical assistance immediately!"

"Right well... Aragaki-san, get on the phone with the station and tell them to send both a medic and a vet to our location immediately. Good job Shirogane-san." The leader of the group nodded to Naoto approvingly before turning to his group and giving the order to take the outlaws to the station.

* * *

"Shirogane-san?" A female voice sounded from the phone as Naoto answered it.

"Yes?" Her pained, worried voice replied to the voice.

"This is the vets your dog is with." Before she could say anything else she spoke;

"Is Tantei okay?" The vet sighed in exhaustion to the question. "Well is he?"

"Shirogane-san..."

* * *

**Authors Note!  
LOL Yes I know! I'm EVIL! I already have the ending written and ready to upload! I just thought an actual cliff hanger would make things more interesting! SORRY! By this point in the story Naoto and Tantei are quite a famous duo in the detective agencies so they were requested to team up again! I am considering some side stories in the space between the last chapter and this one so yeah. :D :D :D Please Read &amp; Review! As always I love hearing from you and hearing your opinions! :D**

**PS**

**I finished writing this at almost 1 am so sorry if its bad! I also grammar checked it before uploading it so that saves me a job later! :D :D :D**


	9. Chapter 9 (END)

"Oh, thank god for that!" Naoto's relieved response to the news made the vet chuckle kindly. "When can he come home?"

"In a few days at max. He suffered quite a few serious injuries and its amazing he's pulled through this so we are going to keep him here for a while. Just to make sure he stays in a stable condition. After that, you can take him home!"

"Okay, well thank you so very much!" Her voice was filled with a mixture of both joy and relief at the thought of her beloved companion coming home...

**THE END**

**Thanks For Reading!**


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